Emma sucked in her breath, not being able to believe her eyes. The little plus sign had to be some kind of joke, a rare exception or just a dream she would hopefully wake up from. But then again, she'd tried calling her problems -especially a major one called Neal Cassidy- a huge nightmare too many times, hoping she would wake up and find herself in her ex-boyfriend's arms. That obviously didn't happen, though, for she still found herself sitting in a prison cell whilst looking at a positive pregnancy test.
"Miss Swan, you have a visitor," a female voice said.
When the blonde looked up she saw a blue-eyed man smiling as he walked up to her. This confused her, of course, but what else was there to do other than to see what this man wanted and hope he wouldn't do the prisoner and her baby any harm?
"Emma," he whispered as he sat down next to her.
She couldn't decipher why, but his features seemed oddly familiar. Emma was almost sure she had seen him before, although her mind failed to remember when.
"Who are you?" She asked frowning, quickly hiding her pregnancy test. After her boyfriend betrayed her and let her take the blame for stealing $20.000 worth of watches, trust was something she couldn't afford to have anymore.
The man hesitated, apparently debating whether to tell her the truth or not. "A friend," he finally said. "And I need you to have this."
Emma hadn't noticed the small object her so called 'friend' had been holding, but now it seemed impossible to avoid as she stared at the keys to her and Neal's stolen car. The blonde found herself longing for oblivion all of a sudden, and wished she had been kept in the dark when her gaze fixed on the little swan on the key chain.
"Why?" Was all she managed to say, her voice fragile and her heart broken.
If she had known better, Emma would have thought he actually cared about her and wasn't a random stranger who'd been sent by none other than her ex-boyfriend. But she didn't, and she was wounded, therefore she failed to notice the look in his eyes.
"I'm afraid I can't answer that," was his answer and the last thing that mysterious man said to her.
Emma was so surprised, she hadn't felt the cold keys on her hand until he was gone and turned into one more riddle to solve. But right now, it got pushed to the back of her head. Not even Neal deserved to be on her mind constantly now that she had other priorities, such as the fact that she was pregnant at seventeen years of age. How was she going to raise a baby by herself? She was definitely not ready for a child, and now that she saw the heartbreaking truth —that Neal didn't care about her at all— she couldn't even try to contact him so they could be a family.
Emma couldn't do this. But abortion wasn't a choice either, so she had to, but she would do it alone. Her mind was set now and there was nothing anyone could do to stop her, even if their name was Neal Cassidy and they came with a sweet apology and empty promises.
"Seems like I'll have a car when I get out," Emma mumbled to herself. "And a baby. Congratulations, Neal, you completely ruined my life."